MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Two candidates are running for the Waco City Council District 1 seat as East Waco residents ask for neighborhood improvements.
- East Waco residents are asking for basic infrastructure improvements, including curbs and sidewalks, noting they pay fees for street services they do not receive.
- Incumbent Andrea Barefield says she is focused on ensuring city growth benefits the community, highlighting an increased street budget and support for local businesses
- Challenger Rachel E. Pate says the district needs leadership that prioritizes resident voices, access to workforce opportunities, and lowering costs.
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Two candidates are vying for the Waco City Council District 1 seat as early voting begins, and East Waco residents are voicing their desires for neighborhood improvements and better representation.
Carl Giles has lived on Turner Street since 1986. He said he has lived through three city renovations, but through those changes, he has never received the curbs or sidewalks he has been asking for.
"We're in desperate need of curbs, sidewalks, and what have you, lots cleaned off, and they totally omitted this area," Giles said.
Giles noted there is a $2 fee on his water bill that goes toward street services. As one of the only streets without curbs in his neighborhood, Giles said he is paying for a service he does not receive.
"There's a $2 fee on your water bill that goes towards street services. So these are programs that's implemented, but programs that's not provided to low income neighborhoods like this," Giles said.
He believes a curb will increase his home value since street sweepers could run through the neighborhood and his drain system would not clog up.
"It's what I pay for, and I want it, it seems like the newcomers, they, they have more privileges than the than the people that's here," Giles said.
As the District 1 seat opens up, Giles is looking for someone ready to listen and work on making improvements to the livelihoods of him and his neighbors.
"The best advice I could give to anybody is if you're going to represent the people, then get out in the neighborhood and see what the people want. Talk to people like me, my concerns is not an isolated case," Giles said.
I reached out to both candidates running for the District 1 seat and asked them what obstacles people in the district are facing and what their promise is to the community.
Incumbent Andrea Barefield said the biggest obstacle is ensuring growth actually benefits the community. She touched on the increase of the city’s street budget and bringing the first full-service bank back to East Waco to help support minority and women-owned businesses. Her promise is to continue the growth for families.
"One of the biggest obstacles in District 1 is ensuring that growth actually benefits the people who have called this home for generations. For too long, the narrative was about what was happening to us; now, it’s about what we are building for us. For years, this community was overlooked, but we’ve changed that by moving past empty promises to deliver the kind of progress you can see and feel. You can see it in the way we’ve protected our neighborhood’s integrity—not just by securing workforce housing so our neighbors aren't priced out, but by increasing our street budget from $4 million to $30 million and reclaiming over 50 streets in just the last two years. You can feel it in the new heartbeat of our economy, where we brought the first full-service bank back to East Waco in decades and made sure that 70% of our small business support went directly to minority and women-owned businesses. We didn’t just talk about the next generation; we are delivering the Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center to bridge the digital divide for our kids. So if anyone says growth isn’t reaching District 1, I will respectfully disagree. The progress is real, and my commitment is to keep moving forward—making sure more of our families have the opportunity to stay, build, and thrive,"
Challenger Rachel E. Pate said District 1 needs leadership that prioritizes and speaks up for the community’s needs. She also said they need access to workforce opportunities and bringing down costs. She is promising to include resident voices in decision-making while also building up small businesses.
"The people of District 1 need leadership that prioritizes and speaks up for their needs- access to workforce opportunities, bringing down costs, including residents’ voices in decision making, building up small businesses and advocating for inclusive development,"
Early voting has commenced, but polls will be closed Tuesday April 21 for San Jacinto Day.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
